[plughs]

I realized last week that I've gotten so used to not checking prices that I put a $70 bottle of melatonin in my amazon shopping cart without noticing. This particular brand is a regular purchase for me and it's always been about $7, so I didn't consider even looking at the price.

I'm sure that that's the goal as far as the seller is concerned - hope that buyers don't notice and purchase it. Yet another amazon scam

[bashinator]

I would never buy supplements off Amazon - if they're trying to get you to accidentally buy melatonin for 10x the regular price, then they're probably also trying to get you to buy counterfeit melatonin for 1x the regular price.

[buu700]

I buy all my supplements on Amazon (Subscribe & Save), but only brands I've validated against https://labdoor.com.

[bashinator]

Does that protect you from counterfeit products that duplicate the branding?

[buu700]

No, and that's a good point. I've lost a lot of faith in Amazon since it turned out that their Apple chargers were counterfeit (or were actually Apple but from a different country with different safety standards, or something).

[bashinator]

I've definitely gotten counterfeit Advantage flea medication from Amazon. A) It didn't work, and B) the cats had no reaction to applying it (usually they hate it because it burns a little on the skin). Packaging was about perfect, and the applicators were filled with water. Now I only buy it from the local pet store, where I can make the safe assumption they're sourcing the stuff responsibly.

[buu700]

Wow, that's pretty bad. Guess I should also switch to another source sooner rather than later.

[ghaff]

I find it's a general problem with "household" goods on Amazon--and one reason the Dash buttons were mostly ill-conceived. You can get prices that are Walmart-competitive (which is basically my benchmark for paper towels and the like). But it varies all over the map and you absolutely have to pay attention. Which, in my case with a Walmart nearby, means that it's not worth the trouble.

[tyfon]

What happens if you do this via Alexa, does it just auto-order whatever it finds to whatever price it wants or does one have some control over it?

I don't have any of these assistants in my house for obvious reasons but this seems like the perfect way to scam someone.

[taborj]

I think even more so when it's something you've bought before. "Alexa, buy more XYZ". I don't use assistants either (for I suspect the same reasons as you), but I assume Alexa would simply repurchase the same item you bought last time, regardless of price. In OP's case, that'd be a 10x markup.